The New Prophecy
by DaffodilChains
Summary: It's been 2 years since Gregor killed the Bane and Gregor finally returns to the Underland. A new prophecy has appeared, but that's the least of his troubles...
1. Just a Feeling

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Underland Chronicles. Suzanne Collins does.**

**A/N:**

** I know I have a lot of fanfics going on right now, but I just finished reading the Underland Chronicles again, and I feel a very strong feeling in writing this. But I will still update my other stories. Sorry for not updating 'A New Life' for a while!**

Gregor walked out of school, his breaths showing in puffy white clouds in the cold winter air.

As usual, he took a detour to Central Park to look at the stone slab covering the entrance to the Underland. Gregor found his hand closing around the plastic bat in his pocket: his reminder of his bond, Ares.

After he had killed the Bane, his parents had debated whether to move to his uncle's farm in Virginia or not. After Boot's and Lizzie's protests they had finally decided to stay in New York, but when Gregor had tried to return to Underland, he found that the stone slab could be removed, but the passage underneath had disappeared.

Gregor had, at first, been angry. Then anger gave way to emptiness. It was as if a part of Gregor had been taken from him and he had not been happy with it. When he told his dad about it he had only said that it was probably meant to be.

It had been two years since they had killed the Bane and Gregor was now fourteen. He felt a large pull towards the stone slab and walked forward, deciding to try his luck again.

Gregor tugged at the slab, but his numb fingers slid off almost immediately. He breathed on them and after a few second of tingling, feeling returned to his fingers. He tried again, pulling at the stone, but it was in vain. Gregor let out a frustrated grunt right before he had another idea. It was time to visit Mrs. Cormaci.

**~~~~~GxL~~~~~**

After Gregor's dad had finally gotten over his sickness and relapses were rare, he had gone job hunting. He had found a job as an office clerk after the old clerk had stormed off and the boss was desperate. Pay was good which meant two things: 1) Gregor's mom didn't have to work as hard and 2) soon after, they moved to a larger apartment.

Mrs. Cormaci still lived in her old apartment, stubbornly refusing Gregor's dad's many offers to let her stay at their new apartment.

Gregor walked up the flights of stairs to her place and knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Mrs. Cormaci's familiar voice floated through the door.

"Mrs. Cormaci! It's Gregor!"

"Oh! Gregor!" He heard shuffling and a few seconds later the door was open. "Come on in. If I had known you were coming I would've made something for you!"

Gregor placed the paper bag of cookies onto the kitchen table. "Lizzie and Boot's made some cookies for you."

Mrs. Cormaci smiled. "How have you been? Oh, you've grown so much!" She looked at him up and down. "So, why have you come?"

"To visit," Gregor said.

Mrs. Cormaci stared at him for a few seconds. "And?"

Gregor almost laughed. Mrs. Cormaci knew him too well. "I had a feeling I could get into Underland again. I was going to try going through the laundry room."

A troubled look came across Mrs. Cormaci's face. "Oh, Gregor. I forgot you didn't know."

A twisting feeling was starting in Gregor's stomach. "What?"

Mrs. Cormaci bit her lip. "Gregor, the laundry room isn't a laundry room anymore. They converted it to another apartment so the landlord could rent it to more people. A family lives there now."

**A/N:**

** I hope you guys like the first chapter! Review!**


	2. Disappointment

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Underland Chronicles.**

"What?" Gregor was still with shock, then after what felt like a million years, he started laughing unsteadily. "Don't joke like that, Mrs. Cormaci. You scared me there for a second!"

"Gregor… I'm sorry, but it's not a joke." Mrs. Cormaci placed a hand on Gregor's shoulder and gave him a comforting pat.

She led Gregor to the sofa and sat him down and left, returning a few minutes later with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk. "Here, you might feel better."

Gregor took a cookie and placed it in his mouth, his body chewing on its own accord. The cookie was dry, tasting of sawdust and metal in his mouth.

Suddenly, a loud slam was heard and Mrs. Cormaci, followed by Gregor, ran towards the door, peering outside to see what was happening. "That's it!" A man shouted, pulling a suitcase with a large duffel bag slung on its handle behind him with one hand and balancing a few worn cardboard boxes with the other. A woman with a little girl in tow followed behind him quickly. "Mr. Brown, where are you heading?" Mrs. Cormaci asked.

"Away from here, that's where. Ever since we've moved here last week, it's been nothing but scratches and cheeps and loud bangs from behind the wall. Can't sleep, can't concentrate, can't do anything!" He gave the suitcase a rough tug and it tumbled down the few stairs it had been stuck on. "We're leaving here, and you can tell the landlord he needs to hire a exterminator! There are rats and mice between the walls, and cockroaches have been around all the time this past week. Scares the life out of my poor wife it does!" Mr. Brown was red in the face and a small line of drool trickled out of the side of his mouth: the result of his rant.

Mr. Brown, extremely unhappy, left. But he left behind a bright-eyed, happy Gregor.

Gregor turned to Mrs. Cormaci. "This is _perfect_!"

"Hm? What's perfect?"

"Well, obviously, the scratching are the nibblers and the gnawers and the roaches coming up… they're telling me to go back down!"

"Are you sure, Gregor? They might be normal rats and mice."

"C'mon Mrs. Cormaci, I have to try. And they've just left! It's perfect!"

Mrs. Cormaci tutted disapprovingly. "You shouldn't be so happy, that family just left their home!" But Gregor could see the faintest of smiles on her lips. "But, yes, you might as well go try. Might as well not waste a good opportunity."

Gregor's already-wide smile widened even more.

**~~~~~GxL~~~~~**

Mr. Brown had left the door of his apartment wide open when he had left with his family, but, still, it felt to Gregor as if he was intruding. "Sorry," he muttered before he shoved an old couch to the side, his excitement mounting. Gregor pushed the grating and then looked into the dark hole, disappointment surging through him immediately. There was just a small hole, no drop or anything. He swallowed the huge lump in his throat and got back up.

"Well?" Mrs. Cormaci demanded as he entered her apartment again. "Are you going?"

Gregor shook his head. "The grating… behind the grating's just a normal hole, now." His voice cracked and he bit his lip, rushing out of the apartment.

**~~~~~GxL~~~~~**

The next morning, a bleary Sunday morning, came swiftly and quietly and throughout the house, only one person was awake: Gregor.

He had made himself a cup of hot chocolate, and was now staring out the window, hands cupped around the warm drink. Thoughts were running wild around his head and the sweet drink soothed him. _I should apologize to Mrs. Cormaci for running off like that,_ he thought. Gregor sighed and grabbed the house keys from the coffee table and pulled his thickest coat on. He quickly scribbled a note for his parents and left, closing the door carefully behind him.

He walked back to the park first; hoping something – anything – had been left there by the Underlanders to help him. But there was nothing but the frozen slab of rock. Gregor sighed in frustration and turned to walk back to Mrs. Cormaci's.


	3. Return to the Underland

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gregor or any other characters in here unless there's an OC, which is super unlikely.**

Gregor felt a slight tinge of déjà vu as he knocked on the door of Mrs. Cormaci's apartment. When Mrs. Cormaci opened the door, he blurted out his apology before she could even say 'hello'.

"Well, it's alright, dear. I understand what you're going through. But don't worry, if the Underlanders want you down there, a sign will be sent to you. Be sure of that." She gave him a small pat on the back and invited him in, but Gregor refused.

"Sorry, Mrs. Cormaci, I have to go home."

Mrs. Cormaci smiled, nodded and closed the door.

Gregor thought about what Mrs. Cormaci had said. She had been trying to make him feel better, he knew that, but he felt worse, instead. There'd been no sign, what if he just wanted to go back? What if the Underlanders didn't want him there at all? Gregor closed his eyes, the darkness making him feel calm.

He walked forward to push open the front door when he heard a yell from behind him. "Gregor!"

"Mrs. Cormaci?"

"Lizzie just called." Mrs. Cormaci was panting hard. "She told you to hurry home, something's wrong."

**~~~~~GxL~~~~~**

Gregor barely heard the Mrs. Cormaci after that. He stuttered out a 'thanks' and rushed out the door. It was a cold day, but Gregor didn't feel the drift of snow or the coldness that it brought.

What had happened back home? Was dad sick again? Was Boots lost? Had his grandmother, who had been hanging on by the slightest thread, died? Gregor's feet were moving by themselves by now, the rest of his body numb.

He reached home, and shoved the key in the lock impatiently, and then pushed open the door with a loud bang. "What happened?"

He was met with puzzled faces. "Nothing," his mom said, sipping tea.

"Then why did Lizzie tell me to come home quick?"

Just at that time, someone tackled him and Gregor fell to the floor. "Hey!" he yelled, twisting around. He saw who it was and the word faded on his lips.

"Gregor, I missed you so much," Luxa said happily, helping him up from the floor.

**~~~~~GxL~~~~~**

"Luxa?" Gregor was shocked, and could barely hear anything apart from his own voice and the blood pounding in his ears.

"Yes?" Luxa brushed off her clothes.

"How did you get here?"

Luxa's head cocked to the left. "That I am not sure of." She tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder and continued. "After you left, some tried to follow you up. Hazard tried. But the sewer direction was… sealed off. And the grating the bats flew to see, but it was blocked too."

"I know, I checked." Gregor was still surprised, but happiness from seeing Luxa was slowly taking over it.

"Well, yesterday, I had a…" Luxa's brow furrowed in concentration. "Feeling. I had a feeling, and I went to the nursery. You know, the one with the turtle head." Gregor nodded. "Yes, well, I went there and the bird head, opposite of it, it's mouth was open too. I don't know why we didn't find it before, but… it led me here."

Gregor's mouth was dry. "Ca – can we go?"

His mom and dad looked at each other, and bit their lips. "Promise to be careful?" They finally said when they saw that Gregor was desperate. Gregor's face broke into a smile and he grabbed Luxa's hands, whirling her around. "Let's go!"

Luxa giggled, but something else was weighing on her, Gregor could see it, but he didn't push it. "Wait! If you're going, I'm going too!" Boots and Lizzie had stood up, fierce looks of determination on their faces.

Gregor shrugged, but looked over to his parents, who nodded.

The walked out the door, ready to return to Underland.

**A/N:**

** Sorry all these chapters are so short! I hope you like them anyway!**


	4. The New Prophecy

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gregor or Luxa or anyone. **

**A/N:**

** Thanks for all the reviews!**

Boots, Lizzie and Gregor all jumped at the opportunity to tell Luxa what had happened ever since they had left the Underland.

"And I called Gregor 'Gregor' for the first time – "

"And dad and mum had a giant discussion whether to move to Virginia – "

"And I missed Ripred so much!"

"Then Grandma died – "

"And dad got a better job – "

"GUYS!" Luxa finally yelled, earning more stares from people walking down the street. She was wearing a robe-like dress, gold-threaded and shining. Her tiara – bigger and more bejeweled than her last one – perched on her wild blonde hair and reflected the bright sun. Her pale skin and violet eyes glimmered in the unfamiliar light. "One at a time!" She laughed.

"What's going on in the Underland?" Gregor asked after drawing in a deep breath.

A conflicted look flickered across her face. "Everything's fine," she finally answered.

Boots and Lizzie didn't notice her expression – they were too excited – and skipped ahead happily. "Really?" Gregor asked skeptically.

"Fine," she whispered. "The day before I followed the passage and the glowing light to your house, a new prophecy appeared on the wall. Right next to the one about the Code of Claw."

Gregor stopped in shock, then ran a few steps to catch up with Luxa. "Wait, new prophecy?"

She nodded and wrinkled her nose. "It is a bit confusing, unlike the other ones Sandwich wrote."

Gregor nodded and brushed away the thought that Luxa had not told him everything.

**~~~~~GxL~~~~~**

"Here," Luxa stood in front of a crumbling brick wall in a dark alley. "I came out here, and followed a glowing light."

"Glowing light?" Five-year-old Boots clapped her hands together in delight.

Lizzie looked doubtful, but nodded anyways. "So, how are we, um, walking through the wall?"

"Watch and follow. And look out for a drop." Luxa walked forward, the wall shimmered and disappeared around her.

Gregor shrugged. "I'll go next?"

Lizzie and Boots nodded, and Gregor squeezed his eyes shut and walked into the wall.

**~~~~~~GxL~~~~~**

Gregor had expected to smash into a brick wall, but the next thing he knew, his heart was in his throat and he was in free fall. The air around him was so tight he couldn't even scream. In panic, Gregor tried to push his arms out to grab something, but he was falling so quickly his arms snapped to his side immediately. Just as he was about to think that he was definitely going to die, he landed on the soft, furry ground.

Turning to the side, he vomited, tears stinging his eyes. Luxa stared at him disdainfully. "That was a small drop. You have grown soft."

Gregor looked up and tried to produce a glare, but turned to vomit again. When he finally recovered enough, he heard a faint "wheeee!" and seconds later, Boots tumbled on the furry floor. "Boots flyed!" She crowed happily.

A minute had passed when at last Lizzie joined them. As soon as she touched down, she curled up into fetal position, breathing hard. "Lizzie, are you alright?" Luxa reached forward and squatted down to Lizzie, rubbing her back soothingly.

When Lizzie recovered, Luxa beckoned them down a dark corridor and when it started to finally get brighter Gregor was stunned at how similar the place looked.

**~~~~~GxL~~~~~**

Gregor stood stock still in the middle of the nursery. Nothing had changed since the last time he had been there, apart from the fact that the floors weren't covered with mice and bandages.

"Come," Luxa said, beckoning. "I will show you the new prophecy."

**~~~~~GxL~~~~~**

_The entrances will be blocked._

_The Warrior's visits, stopped._

_He will find a way,_

_And when it's the day,_

_He will come back,_

_Come back to the Underland. _

_The Spellers must be found,_

_They must be taken aground._

_For they seal the entrances,_

_They must undo the seal._

**~~~~~GxL~~~~~**

"The last line doesn't rhyme," Gregor said, staring at the poem.

"Yes, that is why Vikus finds it weird. It does not seem like one of Sandwich's poems, and it only appeared recently."

"Recently, huh?" Gregor scratched his head. "Who are the Spellers? And what are the seals?"

"We have Gnawers, Fliers, Crawlers, Nibblers, Spinners, Shiners, and Hissers, but I have never heard of a Speller." Luxa shook her head in frustration sending her tiara flying to the ground.

Lizzie walked over and picked it up and handed it back to Luxa who nodded her thanks. "Maybe Spellers mean scientists? Or the smarter people? You, know, spelling?" Lizzie blushed slightly as she heard how childish her remark sounded.

Luxa nodded her head slowly. "That is a possibility."

"Well, the entrances are sealed, that's obvious, but that doesn't _do_ anything, right?" Gregor sank down to the ground and sat cross-legged.

"Maybe – "

Luxa's reply was cut off as the door opened with a loud bang. "Princess Luxa, our water supplies are draining."

**A/N:**

** I am so super sorry if this chapter was boring **** Can somebody remind me how old Luxa was when Gregor left? They were both 12, right? Or am I wrong? Sorrryyyyy! ****(Oh, and sorry for the super sucky prophecy, my rhyming skills are extremely limited.)**


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